IT ZIEHMS TO ME: New pros for Medinah, Exmoor; Eskimo celebrates 50th anniversary

Mike Scully ended a 10-year stint as Medinah Country Club’s director of golf as soon as the Ryder Cup ended. Now the club has selected his replacement.

Marty DeAngelo will take over Scullly’s former position on Jan. 21. Like Scully he comes to Medinah from Florida, where he had been director of golf at Isleworth – the home club for Tiger Woods and several other PGA Tour players.

Also like Scully, DeAngelo had deep roots in Chicago before going to Medinah. DeAngelo earned his Class A status with the PGA of America after working as an apprentice at Deer Park.

Unlike Scully, DeAngelo comes with a solid background as a tournament player. He has played in tournaments on the Canadian PGA, Hooters, Ben Hogan and PGA circuits.

DeAngelo is ending a long run at Isleworth to come to Medinah. He started working at the Florida facility in 1995, became head professional in 1998 and director of golf in 2004. In 2007 he was named Private Merchandiser of the Year by the Florida chapter of the PGA and he also serves on the Florida Special Olympics board.

Scully left Medinah to become director of golf at Desert Mountain, a resort facility in Scottsdale, Ariz., that boasts five 18-hole courses.

Another long-established Chicago private facility, Exmoor in Highland Park, also dipped into the Florida ranks for its next head professional. David Schmaltz was hired by the club that hosted the Western Amateur in 2012 after having worked as an assistant at Jupiter Club.

A major milestone for the Eskimo Open

The Northern Illinois Men’s Amateur Golf Assn. organized a January event for its most diehard members. It was played at times in a foot of snow (I know. I was one of the participants back in the 1970s when my late brother Rich and I played in the Eskimo 10 straight years when Buffalo Grove Golf Club was the site).

Despite some challenging weather conditions over the years as well as some course and organizational changes, the Eskimo Open has lived on and this year’s staging on Jan. 6 over the Nos. 1 or 3 courses at Cog Hill will mark the event’s 50th anniversary.

Registration begins on Monday, Dec. 31. Fees, payable on the day of play, are $42. Carts, if available, will cost an additional $16. A chili lunch, beverages and prizes are also included.

The event will be held over 18 holes with tee times ranging from 7-11 a.m. If there’s snow a nine-hole division will be also available.

Did you know?

X — Northbrook-based KemperSports has opened a well-publicized Florida resort, Streamsong, and taken over the management of one of the Sunshine State’s older private facilities, Rockledge Country Club. Both are located near Orlando.

X – Tickets to the Feb. 24-26 Chicago Golf Show at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont will be on sale at reduced rates through Jan. 6. Purchasers can get four tickets to the show for $25 until that date.

X –Chicago’s Wilson Sporting Goods has re-signed Irish star Padraig Harrington to another multi-year contract. The winner of three major championships, Harrington will again play Wilson clubs on both the PGA and European PGA tours. He started with Wilson in 1998.

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